Alibaba CEO Jonathan Lu Talks About Founder Jack Ma

In March, when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group named Jonathan Lu to succeed founder Jack Ma as CEO, the company’s website described Mr. Lu as someone who “shuns the spotlight,” putting him in stark contrast to Mr. Ma, one of the most colorful characters in China’s business world.

Reuters/China Daily

Alibaba founder Jack Ma waved to the crowd as new CEO Jonathan Lu spoke during the anniversary celebration of Taobao May 10.

But behind the obvious contrast, according to Mr. Lu himself, the two leaders actually think alike.

Mr. Ma, who founded Alibaba out of his apartment in 1999, has a reputation for making playful, provocative remarks. Compared to Mr. Ma as a speaker, “I’m more straightforward,” said Mr. Lu, who comes across as confident but unassuming.

Mr. Lu joined Alibaba in 2000 after an Internet telecom company that he helped start was bought by Mr. Ma’s fledgling venture. Mr. Lu says his first impression of Mr. Ma was that he was skinny, short and spoke very loudly. “His voice was very passionate, and he made me believe in what he was saying.”

Since then, Mr. Ma and Mr. Lu have seen the tiny venture turn into one of China’s biggest Internet companies. Along the way, Mr. Lu has led all of the company’s major business units, including online shopping site Taobao and Alibaba.com, a trading site that connects Chinese suppliers with domestic and overseas buyers.

Mr. Lu said that Mr. Ma asked him to become CEO just three days before the announcement was made in March. “Jack has always been like that,” Mr. Lu said.

In 2004, when Mr. Lu was the head of Alibaba.com’s Guangzhou sales team, Mr. Ma flew in from Hangzhou and asked him to help launch Alipay, an online payment system that Alibaba was preparing. After several years at Alipay, Mr. Lu was again asked by Mr. Ma, with only a few days’ notice, to run the Taobao business.

When Alibaba celebrated the 10th anniversary of Taobao in May, Mr. Ma, sporting a black hat and a shiny silver jacket, sang two songs in front of 40,000 people at a football stadium. “Taking over from Jack Ma is a difficult job,” Mr. Ma told the audience. “All of you trust and support Jonathan just as you have trusted and supported me.”